Chapter 119: Negotiations
"You lost."
Kei walked up to the Third Raikage. "Are you ready to concede?"
"You..."
The Third Raikage sat on the ground, his Lightning Release Armor shattered. His entire body looked drained, his face pale and ashen.
He struggled to stand, but ultimately failed. In the end, he could only remain seated there and let out a deep sigh.
"You won."
"I am indeed no match for you."
"But if you think this will make Kumogakure yield, that is impossible."
"Even if you kill me, do not think for a moment that we will back down."
His attitude was firm. Even if he died here, he would never allow Kumogakure's interests to be compromised.
This was his resolve as a Kage.
"It was only a small defeat. Why talk about killing?"
Kei smiled. "I have no intention of killing you."
"Let us talk properly, Raikage."
"Since the battle is over, then the remaining matters should be settled at the negotiating table."
He spoke calmly, showing no intention of killing the Raikage at all.
Kei had his own reasons for acting. Simply killing the Raikage would bring him no benefit apart from drawing Kumogakure's hatred.
Rather than killing him here, it was better to use Kumogakure's defeat to win more at the negotiating table.
Under his instructions, the war before them quickly came to a halt.
The Kumogakure shinobi gathered on one side, facing off against the Konoha shinobi from a distance.
At the same time, the Raikage and his aides began negotiations with Konoha's representatives.
"No matter what, this war was started by Kumogakure. You must compensate Konoha for its losses!"
Danzo, representing Konoha's hawkish faction, was the first to speak.
"Compensation is absolutely impossible!"
The Kumogakure side responded just as decisively. "You injured our Raikage. That is your fault. Konoha should be the one compensating us!"
"Injured your Raikage?"
Even with Danzo's temperament, he could not help losing his cool. "If Kumogakure had not launched a surprise attack first, how would your Raikage have ended up injured?"
"You still dare to twist right and wrong at a time like this!"
"Enough with the useless arguments. Let us talk sincerely."
Standing to the side, Kei spoke calmly. "At present, it is not only you, Raikage, who are here in the Land of Whirlpools. There are also five thousand elite Kumogakure shinobi."
"Raikage, surely you do not wish for your own mistake to bury all of them with you as well?"
"What do you mean by that?"
The Third Raikage immediately stood up and glared at Kei.
"It means exactly what it sounds like."
Kei said, "The Land of Whirlpools is an island nation. All ships leading to the outside world are now under our control."
"If war begins again, you should know very well what your fate will be."
The moment those words were spoken, all the Kumogakure representatives present felt a chill run down their spines.
Even the hot tempered Third Raikage fell silent.
If he could, he would have liked nothing more than to fight Kei to the end, even if it meant dying by his hands.
But he could not do that.
He could disregard his own life and death, but he could not ignore the lives of the comrades behind him.
Attacking the Land of Whirlpools had been a highly risky move from the very beginning.
If five thousand shinobi had successfully struck the Land of Whirlpools, then everything would have been simple. They could have won, looted what they wanted, and withdrawn at once.
But if they failed, they would be plunged into an extremely passive position.
Just like the one they were in now.
Konoha had joined forces with the Uzumaki Clan and now controlled the overall situation in the Land of Whirlpools.
Under these circumstances, even Kumogakure's retreat had been completely cut off.
After all, the Land of Whirlpools was an island nation far out at sea. Entering or leaving required ships.
With the situation under enemy control and no ships in hand, unless every one of them could fly, there was simply no way to leave this place.
"What... exactly do you want?"
After a long silence, the Third Raikage finally sighed and sat back down at the negotiating table.
"How about the Eight Tails?"
Kei said.
The moment those words fell, the Third Raikage cut him off without hesitation.
"That is impossible!"
For any hidden village, a Tailed Beast was one of its most important foundations and absolutely could not be surrendered.
Even if the Third Raikage and the five thousand shinobi behind him all died here, the Tailed Beast would not be handed over.
"I do not need the complete Eight Tails. Just a part of it."
Kei chuckled. "One tentacle. That should not be a problem for you, right?"
"Just one tentacle?"
The Third Raikage frowned, clearly unable to understand Kei's intention.
But after only a moment, realization struck him.
"You want to imitate the Kinkaku Brothers and try that kind of experiment?"
"It is useless."
He sneered. "We have already performed similar experiments before. Apart from the Kinkaku Brothers, every single subject died."
"That is my business."
Kei smiled faintly. "You only need to give me the material."
Regarding this condition, the Third Raikage thought for a moment before finally agreeing.
A complete Tailed Beast was indispensable, but just a portion of its flesh and cells was another matter entirely.
Just like an ordinary person, a Tailed Beast's flesh and cells could regenerate, so this did not really count as a true loss.
"The second condition."
Kei continued, "I want the secret techniques related to your clan's Lightning Release Chakra Mode."
"What?"
The Third Raikage's expression changed drastically.
Lightning Release Chakra Mode was the secret art of the Raikage's clan, the Yotsuki Clan.
Through this secret technique, one could stimulate one's cells with Lightning Release chakra, giving rise to many derivative techniques such as the Lightning Release Armor.
The titles of strongest spear and strongest shield that belonged to the Third Raikage were, in essence, all born from this secret technique.
To the Third Raikage, the importance of this art was no less than the Flying Thunder God Technique was to Kei.
And now, Kei was demanding that he hand it over.
"Do you know what you are saying?"
The Third Raikage's face flushed with anger.
"Techniques are dead things. People are alive."
Yuu said softly. "Although the Yotsuki Clan's Lightning Release secret techniques are powerful, over the years, only a handful of people have truly managed to master them, have they not?"
"It is the same as the Flying Thunder God Technique. In all of Konoha, aside from the Second Hokage, I am the only one who has mastered it."
"If the Raikage is dissatisfied, then how about we proceed in the name of a ninjutsu exchange?"
"You want to exchange it for the Flying Thunder God Technique?"
The Third Raikage's eyes lit up at once, and he spoke in a low voice.
The power of the Flying Thunder God Technique had already been displayed to the fullest by Kei. To be honest, it was even more useful than the Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
If Kei was truly willing to exchange the Flying Thunder God Technique for the Lightning Release Chakra Mode, then Kumogakure would not be losing out at all.
.....
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